“The Fractured
Earth #3”
The Rockscape Series
(Watercolour with collage on watercolour
paper)
Size: 83x98cm (framed)
THE IDEAS and TECHNIQUES USED IN THIS PAINTING:
This is a photo of our beautiful coastline on the Sunshine
Coast, Australia. It looks so beautiful
that it is hard to imagine that there is something very wrong with it. WRONG - Yes!
Scientific studies confirm that the Pacific Ocean is in peril due to
pollution and over fishing. “Populations
of marine animals – fish, mammals, reptiles and birds – have declined by an
average of 89 percent from their historical highs.” (from “Frankenstein’s Cat” p.105 by Emily
Anthes ). Also “global warming is
raising water temperatures and levels, and changing its acidity and
salinity. Experts are also predicting
long-term changes in precipitation, storm frequency and ocean currents and
circulation. These shifts are already
having profound effects on marine life. “(p.115). These concerns are addressed in my Rockscape
Series where I have painted ten watercolour paintings.
This painting #3 addresses pollution. I picked this drink can off the beach at Pt.
Cartwright. I photocopied the object
directly and used the photocopy as the collage.
The subject of the watercolour is taken from my photograph
of the rockscape on Pt. Cartwright, seen below.
I have discussed the concept behind this Rockscape Series in
Posts Nos. 9, 67, 69, 72, 78 and 81, so dear reader, go to these past posts if
you are interested in more about this series.
Each painting addresses a different concern.
The composition of this watercolour is simple and flat. This is consistent with my style even though
I have portrayed the photo realistically.
It is balanced with the viewer’s eye being drawn to where the coke can
(the pollution) is, which is the focal point.
Watercolour paint gives a very soft effect and the colours
are clear and unambiguous. An artist
cannot “fudge” a watercolour painting because of its transparent quality. The style is contemporary. The form is two dimensional and the concept
is abstract.
The title gives the meaning of the art work and this title
is used for the whole series. Each
painting in the series is numbered.
I am a colourist. I
go to great care to create colours in my painting that are unique and I spend
endless time planning and mixing these colours.
Watercolour paint is celebrated for the unique way that light is
represented through this medium. However
over the past few years, since the advent of PCs, paintings have increasingly
been selected and often judged from computer photographs. As a painter, I find this practice very limited.
A painting in reality and a painting produced digitally are not the same thing. Moreover size does matters! When paintings are judged for an exhibition
they are all viewed in the “same size” format from a computer and/or projected
onto a screen. Size is an element in the
planning and production of a painting, and should not be reduced to one size
fits all mentality.
According to the computer scientist, futurist and author
Jaron Lanier, “A digital image of a painting is forever a representation, not a
real thing...A digital image, or any other kind of digital fragment is a useful
compromise. It captures a certain
limited measurement of reality within a standardized system that removes any of
the original source’s unique qualities.
No digital image is really distinct from any other; they can be morphed
and mashed up. That doesn’t mean that
digital culture is doomed to be anaemic.
It just means that digital media have to be used with special caution.” (my emphasis) (from “You are not a Gadget” p.133-4). In other words a painting loses its inherent
integrity when it is copied. Lanier is
very concerned with the way the arts and creativity are being compromised by
the way computer programming industry has evolved which, in his view, has
rendered the present generation culturally impotent.
Lanier goes on to state, “A real painting is a bottomless
mystery, like any other real thing. A
painting changes with time. It has
texture, odour and a sense of presence and history.” (from “You are not a
Gadget” p,133-4) Expanding on what Lanier says, I would stress that it also is
a form of human expression – no other creature communicates in graphic form nor
do they think creatively.
Once a week over the last 86 weeks, I have prepared and
published a post about one of my paintings with an emphasis on Understanding
Abstract Art. However from this week
onwards I will be writing on a less regular basis. I will however notify readers in the same
way, through Facebook and LinkedIn.
Therefore expect the next post from me in about a fortnight’s time.
No comments:
Post a Comment